New Place, New Stuff [Reintroductions]

Welcome to my new Internet home!

Overture, dim the lights, this is it, the night of nights.  No more rehearsing or learning our parts, we know every part by heart . . . .

Some of you may have followed me here from The Feather and the Flower, the earlier rendition of my blogging career, and you folks should realize that I usually dial 9-1-1 when I notice someone following me.  It kind of freaks me out, but truth be told, not right away. I relish the attention until things get creepy. I’m excited you followed, almost as excited to be living in a new online house.

This is exhilarating, if not a bit nerve-racking — if I start slurring it’s because of the adult drink that’s getting me through this.  Anyway, I lived on the Blogger platform for a few years and now, finally and obviously, I took a bit of time off to make the shift to WordPress.

But, Mike, why move?

OK, I wasn’t anticipating questions, but this is good. I’m hoping for more discussion, more back-and-forth between us.  I moved to give a fresh look and, in some respects, a fresh start to my presence in the blogosphere. I hope the new layout is easier on the eyes, easier to navigate, easier to interact with. Among other things, I’ve been impressed with photo-display options on WordPress-powered blogs. That’s useful as I’m committing myself to displaying more photos in more appealing formats.

So it’s all cosmetic?

No, no.  And by “no” I mean yes. Wait, what? Dammit, this dialogue thing may not be a good idea.

No, it’s not all cosmetic, this rebirth is that pinnacle moment in time where I subtly shift my focus and methods, so subtly you may not even notice.  Crap, except that I just told you.  Forget I said anything.

I think of it this way: my days on Blogger were a useful training ground where I explored what I wanted to archive for digital posterity. And like most other bloggers, along the way I discovered some seemingly like-minded folks who took an interest, folks who weren’t under the shared-genes obligation to take an interest.

My main intention remains archiving tales of my, and now my family’s, experiences with the natural world. Not only what we observe, but how and why we find it compelling. In the coming weeks, months, and hopefully years I expect to relate more and more birding trips, display more and more photos, and present written essays on anything I (or my family, especially my now-six-year-old daughter) find blogworthy during our forays.  I’d especially like to explore topics like getting involved in conservation efforts, highlighted by the “Citizen’s Guide to Migratory Bird Conservation” that I’m hosting here (work in progress).

So, you’re going to be yet another outlet of straight-laced, nature-oriented “isn’t it grand, boys?” fodder.

Good God, no.  I don’t intend to suppress my awe with Mother Nature and my fascination in the lengths we’ll go to experience it, but I also don’t intend to suppress my natural urge to shroud it in humor, sarcasm, snark, references to pop- and political-culture; you know, whatever’s appropriate.  Like Apostle Jimmy Buffet wisely noted, “If we couldn’t laugh we would all go insane.”

All right, I’ve passed the acceptable word limit according to “Robert’s Rules of Blog Posting for Deliberative Assemblies,” a rule book I just made up but will be referencing for all my blogging needs. Got more questions? Interested in learning more? Check out the “About” page, and/or subscribe for more posts.

A parting thought, articulated by Douglas Adams, as I look around my new home and neighborhood:  “I may not have gone where I intended to go, but I think I have ended up where I intended to be.”

I hope you’ll stick around.